Ariel Gore: Santa Fe Noir

As soon as I got this gig, I messaged Julia Goldberg, longtime editor of the Santa Fe Reporter . Yes, Julia would know where the bodies were buried. She climbed on as associate editor, and generously shared her vast experience as a journalist in this high desert town.

In addition to the talented team of Santa Fe Noir writers who went above and beyond their roles as contributors to share their secrets, I got early and invaluable input from the booksellers at Collected Works and op.cit.

Fellow noir editor Susie Bright consulted and cheered me on from Santa Cruz, and Akashic Books publisher Johnny Temple offered his understated advice and dark brilliance.

Thanks to Jess Clark, Cecile Lipworth, Maia Swift, Max Gore-Perez, China Martens, Rhea Wolf, Megan Moodie, Megan Kruse, Karin Spirn, and Michelle Cruz Gonzales, for your insights and support. And to my wife, Deena Chafetz, who makes the best red and green chile there is, for also keeping the wood-fired hot tub at a perfect 110 degrees.

— A.G.

Byron F. Aspaasis Táchii’nii born for Tódichii’nii. Born and raised in Dinétah, Byron now lives northeast of the Four Sacred Mountains. His life is filled with six dogs, three cats, and a wonderful partner named Seth Browder. He is currently working on a few projects — soon to be finished. He is Diné.

Kevin Atkinsonis a writer and performer in Santa Fe. A graduate of the College of Santa Fe, he was the recipient of the 2014 George R.R. Martin Screenwriting Grant.

Jimmy Santiago Bacawas born in Santa Fe and began writing as a young man in prison. He won a 1988 American Book Award for his semiautobiographical novel in verse, Martin and Meditations on the South Valley . He has also won a Pushcart Prize and the Hispanic Heritage Award for Literature. Recent books include the poetry collection When I Walk Through That Door I Am... and the writing textbook Feeding the Roots of Self-Expression .

Ana Castillois a celebrated and distinguished poet, novelist, short story writer, essayist, editor, playwright, translator, and independent scholar. She is the author of So Far From God and Sapogonia , both New York Times Notable Books of the Year, as well as The Guardians, Peel My Love Like an Onion , and many others. Her latest, Black Dove: Mamá, Mi’jo, and Me , won an International Latino Book Award, a Lambda Literary Award, and a PEN Oakland Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ariel Gorehas won a Lambda Literary Award, a New Mexico-Arizona Book Award, and an American Alternative Press Award. She’s the author of eleven books, including The Hip Mama Survival Guide, Atlas of the Human Heart, The End of Eve , and We Were Witches . Her spell collection, Hexing the Patriarchy , is out now from Seal Press. She teaches online at literarykitchen.com.

Katie Johnsonleads by example with good glasses and excellent fashion. She originally hails from the California Bay Area, but has been haunting Santa Fe for many years. She earned her BA in creative writing and literature from the Santa Fe University of Art and Design. From redwoods to aspens, Katie has always been most at home in the forest.

Ana Junegrew up in Santa Fe, swapping stories of La Llorona with her friends and partying after Zozobra. In 2017, she earned an MFA in creative writing from the University of New Mexico, where she still teaches English. Her work has appeared in the Hip Mama anthology Breeder , the Rumpus , and the Santa Fe Literary Review . She is currently at work on a memoir and a novel, and lives on a mini farm in Belen, New Mexico, with her family.

Elizabeth Leegot her BA in English at Brown University and her MFA in creative writing at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She’s currently working on a novel about two sisters separated during the Japanese occupation in Korea, Sunlight, Starlight , and a memoir about trauma, womanhood, and infertility, The Remembering Body . She lives in Santa Fe with her husband and her beautiful pup Annie.

Israel Francisco Haros Lopezwas born and raised in East Los Angeles. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in English and Chicana/o studies and California College of the Arts with an MFA. He brings firsthand knowledge of the realities of migration, US border policies, and life as a Mexican American to his work with families and youth as a mentor, educator, art instructor, ally, workshop facilitator, and activist in Santa Fe.

Tomas Monizis an author of children’s books and short stories, as well as the editor of the Rad Dad and Rad Families anthologies. He is the recipient of the 2016 Mary Tanenbaum Award and has participated in the 2016 Can Serrat, 2017 Caldera, and 2018 SPACE residency programs. His work has appeared in Barrelhouse, Acentos Review, and PALABRITAS. He is at work on a forthcoming chapbook and his debut novel, Big Familia .

Cornelia Readis the best-selling author of Valley of Ashes, Invisible Boy , and The Crazy School . Her first novel, A Field of Darkness , was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Her short story “Hungry Enough” won a Shamus Award for Best PI Story. A reformed debutante, she currently lives in New York City.

James Reichis the author of five novels: Soft Invasions, Mistah Kurtz! A Prelude to Heart of Darkness, Bombshell, I, Judas , and The Songs My Enemies Sing . A regular contributor to Deep Ends: The J.G. Ballard Anthology , his work has also appeared in numerous international magazines. He is the founder and publishing editor of Stalking Horse Press, and a professor of philosophy and literature in Santa Fe. Born in England in 1971, he has been a resident of the US since 2009.

Barbara Robidouxis the author of the poetry collections Waiting for Rain, Migrant Moon , and The Storm Left No Flowers , the short story collection Sweetgrass Burning: Stories from the Rez , and the novella The Legacy of Lucy Little Bear . Her fiction has appeared in Denver Quarterly, Santa Fe Literary Review , and numerous anthologies. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She lives in Santa Fe, where she is at work on a forthcoming book of poetry and stories.

Miriam Saganis the author of thirty published books including the noir novel Black Rainbow and Geographic: A Memoir of Time and Space , which won the 2016 New Mexico — Arizona Book Award in Poetry. She founded and headed the creative writing program at Santa Fe Community College until her retirement in 2016.

Hida Viloriais a first-generation Latinx writer, author, and vanguard intersex and non-binary activist. S/he is a frequent op-ed contributor (the Daily Beast, the Huffington Post, the Advocate, Ms., CNN.com), consultant (Lambda Legal, UN, Williams Institute), and television and radio guest (NPR, BBC, The Oprah Winfrey Show , Al Jazeera , 20/20). He/r first book, Born Both: An Intersex Life , was nominated for a 2018 Lambda Literary Award and has been translated into German.

Candace Walshis the author of the New Mexico — Arizona Book Award — winning Licking the Spoon: A Memoir of Food, Family, and Identity . She coedited Dear John: I Love Jane: Women Write about Leaving Men for Women and its sequel. She is the editor in chief of El Palacio magazine. Her essays have been published in Cactus Heart, Into, CRAFT Literary , and in various anthologies. She holds an MFA in fiction from Warren Wilson College.